11:35 PM,
Apr. 22, 2014

Martha Ryan, a local community advocate, was found dead Tuesday morning.

Written by

Staff report
news@thenewsstar.com

Martha Ryan, co-founder and director of the Northeast Louisiana Children's Museum, was found dead in her home on Park Avenue by Monroe police Tuesday morning.

Together with Melissa Saye, Ryan began planning for the museum in 1996. They met while working at Grace Episcopal Church and started talking at a Christmas party, where the idea for a museum took root.

"The museum is a place where families and children of all ages can come and explore and learn together," Ryan told The News-Star in 2010. "We have places where you can read and learn and discover some really interesting things together. ...